Arnaud, a homeless man, wears a ‘security badge’ during a demonstration in front of the City Hall of Marseille (Picture: AFP/Getty)

A French city has been criticised after it forced homeless people to wear yellow triangles.

Marseille, the second largest city in France, has since backtracked on the plan which was compared to the Star of David being worn by Jews in Germany during the Holocaust.

Homeless people were given the ID cards that had details of their health issues and had to be worn visibly.

But human rights groups criticised the move.

Christophe Louis, president of a homeless charity, said: ‘This is scandalous, it’s stigmatising. Wearing something that shows the whole world what illnesses you have is not only discriminating but it also breaches all medical confidentiality.’

After the fierce backlash, the ID cards were withdrawn on the orders of mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin.

Rene Giancarli, head of social and medical emergency services, told The Local: ‘It’s finished. There won’t be any more cards.

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‘We never meant to cause any harm or trigger a controversy, but it happened.’

A demonstrator holds a sign comparing various different forms of discrimination through badges (Picture: AFP/Getty)